This study is evaluating the association between coffee consumption and risk of gastric and pancreatic cancer among Finns, whose coffee consumption is the highest in the world. In this large prospective study with a long period of follow-up coffee consumption was not associated with the risk of gastric and/or pancreatic cancers.

Abstract

Only few prospective studies have examined the association between coffee consumption and risk of gastric and pancreatic cancer. This study is designed to evaluate this relationship among Finns, whose coffee consumption is the highest in the world. A total of 60,041 Finnish men and women who were 26–74 years of age and without history of any cancer at baseline were included in the present analyses. Coffee consumption and other study parameters were determined at baseline using standardized measurements. Participants were prospectively followed up for onset of gastric and/or pancreatic cancer, emigration, death or until June 30, 2006. During a mean follow-up period of 18 years, 299 cases of gastric cancer and 235 cases of pancreatic cancer were found. There was a nonsignificant inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of gastric cancer among men but not in the women. The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio of stomach and pancreatic cancer incidence for ≥10 cups of coffee per day compared with nondrinkers were 0.75 (95% CI, 0.40–1.41) (P for trend = 0.19) and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.38–1.76) (P for trend = 0.95) for the combined population of men and women, respectively. We did not find a significant association between coffee consumption and the risk of gastric and/or pancreatic cancers.